SURPRISE!!!

Oh, life is a crazy journey.  And it looks like it's just about to get a bit crazier for the Gottschalk family!  Please allow me to set the scene...

It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon on the 8th of September and I picked up my phone to notice that I had missed a call from a strange area code.  Fortunately, the caller left a message.  Here's how that message went;

Caller:  Hey, Ken.  It's Mary Ellen from Small World.  We just got a call from St. Petersburg and we need to talk to you right away.  Please give me a call.


Ken:  (Various thoughts running through his mind....jumping to conclusions...mild panic setting it)

Needless to say, I picked up the phone and called Mary Ellen back right away.  As the phone rang, I ran through the possible scenarios:  Max's paperwork got screwed up, we forgot to do something while were in Russia, or worse, someone wants Max back.  My stomach sank.   Mary Ellen answered:

Mary Ellen:  Hey Ken.  Got some news for you.  Max has a biological sister and we need to know if you want to adopt her...in 24 hours.


Ken:  (GULP)  Huh?  (scrambles to gather his thoughts and string a logical sentence together)

Long story short?  It didn't take long for Shelly and I to decide that we were about to be parents again.  What a wonderful opportunity for both Max and this little girl to grow up together, and for us too!  We know that she will be a perfect fit and can't wait to meet her and ultimately bring her home to meet her family and friends.

With that said, we have no idea when that will happen.  Hopefully sooner than later.  The bad news of this whole thing (if there is such a thing) is that we had to start back at square one with our paperwork.  As fate would have it, our homestudy expired just four short weeks prior to that call on that sunny Wednesday.  The silver lining in this cloud is that we (think we) know what to expect in the weeks and months ahead.  But then again, we weren't expecting this!

Stay tuned.  Plenty more to come.

You've come a long way, buddy!

For those of you familiar with Country music, you may have recently heard the song by Darius Rucker entitled, “It Won’t Be Like This For Long.” For those of you not familiar with the lyrics, he basically chronicles the challenges of raising a child and the fact that the phases that his daughter goes through seem challenging, but sums it up in the chorus:

It won’t be like this for long

One day we'll look back laughin’

At the week we brought her home

This phase is gonna fly by

So baby just hold on

‘Cause it won't be like this for long

The first time I heard it on the radio, if really made me reflect on the year that we have had Max in our lives and how far he (and us, as parents) has come in just this short amount of time.

While August 14th was technically the date we took custody of Max, August 21st was the date we actually started our lives together in the US. Looking back to that day (which, incidentally seems like light years ago), we faced a lot of challenges that we have long overcome. I’ll never forget sitting at the kitchen table watching the monitor glow bright red as Max cried at nap time. Sometimes, it lasted 30 minutes. Now? He points to his bed and asks to go to sleep. No crying at all! Just a phase.

Meal times were a challenge, too, a year ago. Given the diet Max was used to, we found it difficult to find foods that he was interested in trying. To say the least, he was a picky eater. Now? He will try just about anything, and loves foods that most almost-three-year olds would turn their noses up to. Spicy foods? Loves them! Beans? Might be his favorite. At the time, it was frustrating to get him to eat a balanced diet. Now, we can look back and laugh.

Language development has probably been the biggest change over this past year. Last August, we struggled to find a recognizable word. Most, we figured, were something that he heard in Russia. One of our favorites, and his too, was what sounded like “Oh, Donna.” To this day, we have no idea what he was trying to convey, but it must have been important as it came up on a regular basis. Just like his bedtime or eating habits, we look back and laugh because now his vocabulary contains an infinite number of words. Sometimes some we’d rather him not say...

Max continues to amaze us with his cognitive development as well. He has a keen sense of direction. He knows his way to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and Heaven forbid if we turn the wrong way en route. We can’t even drive by a road that leads to any parks without him pointing it out to us. Much of that is due to his elephant-like memory. The kid doesn’t forget a thing, even months after the fact. He can tell you about every “boo-boo,” how it happened, where, and often what he was wearing. He remembers people and their names, and associates things with them, like “Bob has a red jet ski” or that the “ice cream man comes to Betsy’s house.” Without a doubt, he is smart little boy.

So what does Max do for fun? Well, whatever it is, it will have a button, or garage involved. He is captivated by both. He loves trucks, tractors, and cars. He can’t get enough of the park, or animals. He’s happy if he throwing something, whether he is supposed to or not. And, lately, light switches seem to be more fun that the room full of toys in which he is playing.

All in all, our first year as a family has been a smooth one. We really have enjoyed Max at this age. Naturally, we have our moments, but Darius Rucker nailed it, “baby hold on, cause it won’t be like this for long.”

Sad, but true.

Giddy Up, Cowboy!!

For the past 15 years, we have spent our Memorial Day weekends up in northern Michigan riding horses at Wolf Lake Ranch. This year Max got to experience the ranch in what we hope is first of many years to come!

Our weather was unseasonably warm, which meant slower rides for the big kids, but that didn't stop Max from taking Little Bit for a stroll around the ranch.

Once donned with a helmet, he mounted his trusty steed and set out on the trail in search of uncharted territory...um, well, sort of. Actually, I put him on the pony and led him on rope around the ranch, but to him, it was a wild ride!

Needless to say, Max was anything but afraid of the "nay," as he would put it, and can't wait until he and Little Bit can ride the dusty trails again next year.

Time Flies!

Today, marks an anniversary of sorts. It was one year ago, today, that we met Max for the first time in St. Petersburg. In some respects, it seems like yesterday that we were ushered into a small room in the orphanage and waited to see him for ourselves.

With emotions running high, we heard the cry of a child approaching behind the closed door of our room. Before we knew it, there he was.

He was skinny, and looked tired, possibly from the tantrum on the way to the room, or the cold he was fighting off. It didn't take him long to settle down, and take interest in the room full of toys.

Before we knew it, an hour had passed and he was off again, back to join his group.

Today, he is worlds away from his group, both physically and developmentally. He has grown in stature, personality, language, and learned what "home" and "family" mean. We couldn't be luckier to have him in our lives.

People always ask how Max is settling in, or adjusting to his new surroundings. The simple answer is, "great," but let me share a recent story with you.

This past week, Sharon, Max's nanny, was out taking Max for a walk. She stopped to talk to one of our neighbors who described Max as "an All-American boy." Sharon laughed, and proudly informed him of Max's background. Our neighbor was quite surprised.

Needless to say, it's like he's always been here...

Catching up...

I had great intentions of keeping this blog up to date, but somehow, time has slipped away...So here's a brief history of Max in the 6 months he's been home:

Spent time at the lake. Loved to swim. Now officially a member of the Red Neck Yacht Club (RNYC).

Turned TWO!!

Celebrated Halloween with not one costume,

but two costumes! Thanks for making my costume, Grandma Waterman!!

Became a fan of BGSU (but not a big fan of Freddie)

Went to the circus





Celebrated Christmas

And many, many more things. Too many to list.

All in all, Max has really adjusted very well. From time to time, I look back at the pictures and stories from the orphanage just 6 months ago and think how far we have come in a short amount of time. It feels like we have always been together and we hardly remember what life was like without him.

Max goes to the Zoo

Today, Max and his friend, Natalie, went to the Toledo Zoo. It was fun to see the look on his face when he spotted an animal, and gave that familiar, "Ohhhh, ohhhh" with amazement. He does the same thing when Abby comes around at home, too. Maybe he thinks he lives in a zoo?

We saw bears, tigers, elephants, rhinos, wolves, fish, but he seemed to enjoy the primates the most. Partly because they were so close to the glass, and partly because they were so interactive. The animals that he had to look hard to see, or ones in the rear of the enclosure didn't provide for as much entertainment.

The petting zoo was a nice chance for Max to get up close and personal with the animals. Unfortunately, there were only goats to interact with. It didn't matter much to Max. He was more interested in the bucket of brushes used to groom the goats, as well as the bucket of water the goats drank from. He was sholder-deep in the water at one point. He must have thought it was bathtime. After a thorough hand (and arm) washing, we were back on the beat to see more of the animals.

Overall, Max and Natalie had a great time seeing all of the animals, and just spending time with eachother. Max wasted no time letting Natalie know just how much fun he was having.

But, at the end of the day, all of the new sights, sounds and smells took a toll on both Max and Natalie. We decided that we had all had enough, so it was time to head for home. Afterall, it's tough to see the animals through your eyelids!

Time to play "catch-up"

Ok, I know. The posts have been a bit light lately. You may have thought that we fell off the face of the earth, but we've just been chasing a 23-month old around the last few weeks. So let me bring you up to date. Where did we leave off? Oh, that's right, in St. Petersburg....

Sunday and Monday were free days for us in St. Pete and the weather did anything but cooperate. Therefore, we spent most of the days in our hotel room. We were able to sneak out for a quick walk in the park, but it was so cold and windy that we opted to return to our 17 square meter room. And, don't ask me how many square feet that was, I can't work with the metric system. All I know is that it was small for the three of us!

Tuesday morning, I was off to the passport agency to pick up Max's passport so that we could catch the train to Moscow at 4pm. Everything went smoothly and we said "goodbye" to the Andersen Hotel, sans a tear in the eye, and were off to catch our ride to the capital of Russia! One step closer to home...

Leaving St. Petersburg was bitter sweet. With all of our recent travels there, we were starting to grow fond (or at least comfortable) of this city. We will always have such fond memories of the beautiful subway system, the historic sites, and, of course, our friends Katia and Eulena who were so instrumental in helping us adopt Max. So, with hugs and well wishes, we left St. Pete and our friends behind in persuit of Moscow on the Aurora train.

The train ride, all 5 1/2 hours of it, were just what we expected with a 23 month old-a real challenge. Max must have been excited to take the train because all he wanted to do was run up and down the isle the whole time. And when he didn't get his way, he had a total meltdown. We bribed him with treats to get him to settle, which only worked for a short time, then it was back to the races!!! Shelly and I are sure that we won't be getting any cards during the holidays from our mates on the train!

At 9pm, we arrived in Moscow to be picked-up by Ilya, our driver/translator. Ilya drove us to the apartment that we rented and we all 3 crashed as soon as we walked through the door. Shelly and I realized that throughout our busy day, Max had eaten quite well, but we forgot to eat anything all day! Needless to say, we were too tired to eat, so we went to bed as we had an early start the next day.

Ilya picked us up at 8am for a medical exam for Max. This was part of a requirement by the US Embassy. Max was examined by a Russian pediatrician named Boris. He was a funny man, but stern. He wasn't going to let Max get away with fussing and crying and didn't think that we should let him either. He said that Max was used to his caretakers talk to him like a "drill seargent," and that's how we should talk to him if he gets out of line. Easy for him to say...

After that, it was off to the US Embassy to apply for Max's visa to the US. We submitted his paperwork, and were told that it would be ready Thursday at 2pm. Just in time for our Friday departure.

The remainder of Thursday, we hung out in our apartment, did a little grocery shopping at one of the most beautiful grocery stores you can imagine, and topped off the evening with a burger from TGI Fridays. Surprised we found an American resturant in Moscow? Don't be. That city has EVERYTHING!

In contrast to St. Petersburg, Moscow is bigger, faster, brighter, and newer. It is different in every way, except the language. There are Rolex stores, Tiffany stores, Rolls Royce stores, etc. You see every type of car imaginable. The streets are wide, the buildings new. Many of these reasons revolve around the rise and fall of communisim.

During Stalin's rule, he rebuilt many buildings where people lived, widened the streets and built seven "skyscrapers" around the city. All of this being done within the last 100 years. Therefore, Moscow has a much newer feel. After the fall of communisim, there really became two social classes, the rich and the poor. You either have money, or you don't. To date, there isn't much of a middle class, but it is evolving. As a result, many people in Moscow (and other cities) can afford luxury items such as expensive cars or jewlery, a stark contrast to the American way of life (at least as we know it).

We did some sightseeing in Moscow before our departure. We visited Red Square, walked around the Kremlin, and saw many WWII war memorials from the German invasion. There is so much history in Moscow, that our one day tour didn't do it justice, but we were glad we got to see what we did.

Before we knew it, it was Friday, and time to go home! Our flight left Moscow at 5:50am, so Ilya picked us up at 3:15am. Needless to say, an early morning for Max, let alone Mom and Dad! We weren't sure what to expect out of Max, but he pleasantly surprised us!

Our first flight from Moscow to Amsterdam was 3 hours long. He slept for about an hour of the flight, and played and ate the rest of the time. He was a real trooper. Our next hurdle was the 5 hour layover in Amsterdam. Once again, he surprised us. We found a quiet corner of the airport, spread out a blanket and played with his leggos. We also let him run around and burn off some energy. Seemed to work, as the 8 hour flight from Amsterdam to Detroit went well. He slept for another hour on that flight, and the rest of the time played with plastic cups and ate. The last two hours were our most challenging time. He was ready to get off that plane, and so were we.

After our long wait at Customs and Immigration, Grandpa Dennis was there to pick us up, and take us home, for good! And that's where we are today. Trying to figure out what Max likes to eat, and getting him settled into his new surroundings.

Truth be told, he is adjusting quite well. He is sleeping through the night, takes a long nap in the afternoon, and laughs a lot when playing with his toys. He has taken to books, and loves to build (and tear down) things out of blocks.

Unfortunately, he hasn't taken to Abby quite yet. His first encounter with her was when she charged in the room and licked him right across the face. A little overwhelming for him, but afterall, that's Abby's nature. She was just excited to see him. Every day gets better and better. He actually reached out and touched her today. Pretty soon he will realize just how much fun it can be to play with her.

Anyway, much more to come in the future. We have so much planned for him. The Zoo, the lake, meeting more and more of his new friends. A whole new world for Max awaits!

Lessons from day 2

Lesson number two: "Know your limits."

It's hard to determine Max's limits since we have only known him for a short while now. The only way we are able to figure them out is trial and error. That was today's theme.

We started out at breakfast in the hotel resturant. We weren't too sure how much he ate for breakfast, so we started with some oatmeal and a piece of bread. Then added some yogurt and tea. Then some more oatmeal. And more yogurt. We're still not sure if he reached maximum capacity, but we thought we should push it any more. We will try again tomorrow.

We returned to the room to play until lunch at 11:15am. Today's entree was Chicken dinner with vegetables (at least that what the label said). He ate almost the whole jar and another whole yogurt and topped off the meal with yogurt covered fruit snacks. Those are by far his favorite, but anything beats pureed chicken dinner in a jar. YUCK!

He took a nap at noon and slept for about an hour and a half, but his schedule said that he naps until 3pm. We decided to leave him in his crib until then. He never fussed, just played by himself until we got him at three. It is obvious that he is very used to a crib and doesn't need much attention when he is in there.

After the nap, we needed to get out of the room, so we decided to go for a stroll. After yesterday's walk through the park, we thought he would enjoy a nice long ride. So, we walked quite a ways from our hotel to the Peter and Paul Fortress. He fussed a little, but overall enjoyed the walk there. On the way home, we may have pushed it too far. We stopped at McDonald's, again, as Shelly and I had not eaten anything all day, and that's where it all unraveled.

Shelly picked him up from his stroller for a change of scenery when we noticed something running out his pantleg. Clearly, we had pushed the limit on the diaper. When it says it holds up to 18-20 pounds, it doesn't mean the total capacity of urine. Shelly attempted to change him in the bathroom, but that was out of the question, so he had to be changed in his stroller. Once again, we pushed it way to far with him, and he was going to have NOTHING to do with that! He tossed, and turned, and kicked, and screamed. We did our best to get a quick change done, collect our things, and head back to the hotel. He cried the whole way back. Lesson learned? Frequent diaper changes are a must (preferably not in public places).

Max, moments before his "overflow"

Just as a point of reference, he typically doesn't mind being changed. It was just the icing on the cake of a long afternoon for him.

After some play time, it was time for dinner (chicken and pasta-just as nasty) and the standard bread and yogurt, then a bath and bed.

He is fast asleep in crib next to me as I type and sip a tall, cold Baltika. Lord knows there isn't much time for blogging while he's awake!

The Gottschalk's have officially grown by one!

Ahhh. The end of the day and all is quiet. Shelly and I are winding down, as we check our respective email accounts. I shouldn’t mislead you like that. All-in-all, it was a smooth transition from the orphanage to our care today.

We arrived at the orphanage around noon with celebratory pies in hand. We were asked to provide the caretakers clothes for Max to wear from the orphanage. Shelly handed over what she deemed appropriate for his first outfit, khakis and a polo shirt. Moments later, he arrived in his new attire, not too sure what was going on! The Medical Director reviewed his information one last time; we signed her ledger, gathered our paperwork and headed out the door. We were about to face our first hurdle, the car seat.

Since he had never ridden in a car before, much less sat in a car seat, we feared this might be traumatic for him. Call it parental intuition (or just common sense), but we were right. He tried everything in his power to try and get out of that seat as we struggled to figure out how to use it properly. Poor kid, it was the blind leading the blind! Fortunately for all of us, we figured it out and we were on our way.

It didn’t take but a minute for him to settle down and take in all the sights and sounds of the busy streets of St. Petersburg. It’s hard for us to imagine what was going through his mind as we zipped through traffic, but based on his facial expressions, he was amazed. I don’t think I saw him blink once. He looked out each window as if to say, “What is that? And that? And that?” And before we knew it, he was fast asleep.

We arrived at the hotel after about a half hour ride, and tried to get him out of the car without waking him. We were unsuccessful. We hurried up to the room via the elevator. He wasn’t a fan of the elevator. He was clinging so tightly to me, and with every new sight, he held me even tighter. We got into the room, and he settled down as it was approaching “nap time.” That was a good thing, as Shelly was on her own with him for the next couple of hours as I headed off to the passport agency.

When I returned, I found Max and Shelly, playing with toys on the floor. He missed his 3 hour afternoon nap. We hoped that wasn’t a big deal. Turns out it wasn’t.

We abandoned the room, and headed for the park for a walk. This was Max’s first stroller adventure. He loved it! He was interested in watching the pigeons and the ducks. Overall, he was perfectly content in his new ride. So, we decided to take a walk down the block to McDonald’s, since Shelly and I had not eaten all day.

While we dined on some familiar cuisine, he snacked on some Goldfish crackers. We walked back to the hotel, and played for awhile longer until it was his dinner time. Tonight’s meal? Vegetable Beef Dinner (in a jar), bread and some yogurt. Judge for yourself how he liked it:

We got him cleaned up and it was back in the stroller and down the scary elevator so that we could eat something as well. We sure as heck weren’t going to finish that nasty stuff in the jar! We ate at Stolle, our favorite pie and soup joint not far from our hotel. Max had a sampling of my beef pie and Shelly’s mushroom soup, accompanied by some low calorie chocolate chip cookies.

It was quickly approaching bed-time, and Max needed a bath prior to bed. These were two events we thought we were really going to have a hard time with. Once again, we were wrong!

He LOVED taking a bath. He laughed and played and really enjoyed himself. We actually had a hard time getting him out of the tub! So then, it was time to get him to wind-down and go to sleep, but we weren’t sure how. So, we put him in his crib/pack-and-play, and within a matter of 15 minutes, he was asleep. Piece of cake!!! Now, will he sleep through the night? Let’s hope so. We need some rest!!!

So, we hear that being a parent is a learning experience. Today's lesson? "Expect it when you least expect it." We fully expected today being a really tough day for all of us, but it turns out, we were wrong. Now what should we expect for tomorrow? Guess we will have to wait and see.

The Beatles said it best, "Back in the.....," well, you get it...

I'm not saying we've been here too much, but we are starting to recognize people on the street. No kidding! We saw a lady who works at our hotel get off the bus tonight, and instantly knew who she was! We've got to get out of this place!

As you can tell, we made it back for our third (and final) trip to St. Petersburg. It is Thursday evening, and we have settled back into the Andersen Hotel for one last time. This time our room looks a bit different. To my right, is a pack-and-play all set for Max to sleep in tomorrow night (at least we hope he sleeps). To my left, is a gigantic suitcase full of toys, diapers, clothes, food, more toys, shoes, more diapers, a stoller and a diaper bag, full of wipes, medicine, a blanket, more toys, snacks, and, of course, more diapers. WOW! Who knew a child needed so much stuff??? As a result, Shelly and I packed extremely light this trip. It appears that the tables have already turned. Max has become the priority, and us, secondary. Let me save you parents the energy of saying this, "We best get used to it!"

Tomorrow's plan is to pick Max up around noon, then it is off to the passport agency. There, we will apply to get his Russian passport. We will pick up the passport on Tuesday, and head for the train station bound for Moscow. While in Moscow, we will establish a US passport for him, in preparation for our departure on Friday.

So, tomorrow starts a new chapter in our lives. One that we have be anxiously awaiting for a long time now. I know, I know....our lives are going to be so drastically different from what they are today. What you don't realize is just how welcomed that change will be for the both of us. It is a change that we have been waiting for for many years now. It's just hard to believe that it is finally happening.

Of course, I'd be lying if I said we weren't a little nervous, but I know someday we will both look back and laugh about the butterflies we had today.

Time to get some rest. Do you think we can get 16 years worth tonight? Let's hope so!

Court Day!

We headed off to visist with Max this morning prior to our appearance in court at 2pm. We were greeted with a somewhat cranky kid, but managed to settle down quickly. The director of the orphanage said that he is really trying to test our limits. We believed her!

At one point, one of his caretakers gave him a piece of candy as incentive to settle down. What differed from the candy on previous days was this was chocolate candy. He refused to allow us to feed it to him. He wanted to do it himself. As a result, he ended up with chocolate all over his hands, his face, his ear, his clothes, and MY clothes. Who thought it was a good idea to give him chocolate? And especially on the day we had to go to court? I guess the judge wouldn't doubt we had contact with him today!

After our visit, we headed off to court. The actual courtroom was not in what we expected, but rather in a old building in the middle of the city, without any markings. We were greeted by our court translator, the director from our agency, the deputy medical director of the orphanage, and a director from the family services department. We were asked to come into the courtroom, where a judge, prosecutor and clerk were present. The judge read our names aloud, along with other demographic infomation and proceeded to ask us questions about our jobs, our income, and our intent to adopt. The prosecutor had a few questions as well. The deputy director and director from family services read information about Max, such as his date of birth, weight, medical conditions, etc. Shortly thereafter, the judge issues a "positive verdict" in our case, and pronounced us the parents of Max. We have to wait 10 days to allow anyone who wishes to appeal her verdict in the Russian Supreme court, but after that, we will take custody of him.

We anticipate returning next week to start his passport paperwork and hopefully will have him home by August 20th. While we are not looking forward to traveling with him, in country, we can't wait to get him home to meet his new family and friends!

Sightseeing

The last couple of days, we have spent seeing the sights around St. Petersburg that we were not able to see on our first trip. Saturday, we visited the Hermitage Museum, which holds one of the world's largest collection of fine art. Some of the pieces in the museum include works by, Rembrant, Matisse, Picasso, Da Vinci, Monet, and Gauguin, just to name a few. Many of these works were not even behind glass or roped-off, which allowed you to get so close that you could examine each brush stroke made hundreds of years ago. It was quite an impressive feeling to see these works first hand.

Bush, by Vincent Van Gogh (1889)

But, famous works of art are not the only reason to visit the Hermitage. The building itself is a work of art. It contains over 400 exhibit halls and guilded salons, once housing the royal families of Russia before it became a museum. Many rooms, like the Malachite room (named for the malachite-trimmed columns in the room), are extremly ornate and displays personal items from the Imperial family.

The Malachite Room

There was plenty to see outside of the museum as well. We saw several monkeys, an very large bird, and two baby bears. They were all available to have your picture taken with, for a few rubles, of course.

Sunday's adventure took us to Peterof, the summer palace of Peter the Great. Peterof is a complex of gardens and residences on the shore of the Baltic Sea. We arrived by hydrofoil, which is a boat that rises from the water as it is propelled, leaving nothing but the prop in the water. Quite an interesting way to travel...

Once arriving at the dock, you walk along a canal that leads from the sea up to the palace itself. You are greeted with cascading waterfalls, over 60 fountains and more gilt statues that you have ever laid eyes upon.

Quite a bit of the palace and it's decorations did not withstand the attack of the German troops in World War II, so much of it is actually a replica, but many of the original parts are still intact. Nevertheless, a beautiful place to visit.

In the evening, we ventured down to the Palace Square in St. Petersburg where Madonna was performing. We were unable to get close to the venue, as the police and military had the area blocked-off to everyone, but ticketholders. We saw the back of the stage and were able to hear a portion of the show, but not worth sticking around.

Tomorrow, we will visit Max in the orphanage in the morning, before we head off to court in the afternoon.

Reunion

We weren't sure what to expect when we got to the orphanage. Would he remember us from 3 months ago? What would his reaction be? Well, we found out! He wanted nothing to do with us. I can just imagine what was going through his head. "Who are these people who are taking me away from playing with my friends outside today? If I throw a fit, I'm sure they will take me back to my group."

Despite repeated attempts to return with his group, we visited with him for about 2 hours. Most of the time either having a complete melt down, or on the verge. We think it may have been the hat that was the source of his frustration. Wouldn't you be frustrated if you had to wear one like that?

We finally got him settled down as we pushed him in a swing. He seemed to enjoy it, but started to get a little sleepy. Probably a combination of the gentle motion of swaying back and forth and the fit he threw an hour earlier. His caretaker said that he is pretty "strong-willed." We don't doubt her!

Our afternoon visit went much better. He cried a little when he first came into the room, but only lasted a minute. After that, we played with some Legos, blocks and some new toys that Shelly brought for him. He enjoyed building things and taking them apart. He was particularly interested in a pingpong ball, which he would lose from time to time, only to look around with his hands up, like, 'where did it go?'

It wasn't long before the orphanage director came to take him back to his group. As you can imagine, he didn't mind heading back to see all of his friends.

In the evening, we took the subway to dinner at an Italian resturant that we were unable to find on our last trip. Then, took the subway back to the hotel and retired for the evening.

We have Saturday and Sunday to do some sightseeing, then back to the orphanage on Monday morning before court at 2pm. We will have one last visit Tuesday morning before we depart. Let's hope that hat isn't around!

TOUCHDOWN!!!

No, not that kind of touchdown. I should say we "touched-down" in St. Petersburg about 5pm local time tonight (9am back home). It was a realtivley uneventful flight. Just a little bit of food poisoning on the way here, but it left just as quickly as if came. Shelly was grateful enough to share her dinner with me on the long flight from Detroit to Amsterdam. Little did she know that I was saving her from about 30 minuets of sheer hell. She owes me...(ha).

We had a short layover in Amsterdam, then it was off to St. Petersburg. When we landed, we were greeted with a much different looking Russian landscape than on our last visit. The first thing we noticed was that the sun actually shines in Russia, which seemed to allow grass to grow and leaves to come out on the trees. What a concept!! It is in the mid seventies today and I believe the weather forcast is similar for the duration of our stay. That should provide us with some nice sightseeing weather in between visits with Max.

Our plan tomorrow is to head to the orphanage in the morning for a couple of hours of visitation, and back in the afternoon for a couple more. We will not be able to see him over the weekend as the director prefers weekday visits only. One of the two days this weekend, we will meet with the translator that will be with us during our court appearance on Monday. She will help us to prepare and let us know what to expect. Outside of that, we plan on visiting the Hermitage Museum on Saturday, and taking a hydrofoil (boat) to Peterof (Peter I's summer palace). It is about a 4o minute boat ride outside of the city. They say it is the Versailles of the North. Not sure we could call their bluff, as we have never been to Versailles, other than Versailles, Ohio. It's GOT to be better than that!

Sunday night, Madonna is performing in concert on the palace square outside of the Hermitage Museum. We will be sure to steer clear of the mayhem down there that night!

Monday we are scheduled to appear in court at 2pm. We are going to attempt a visit with Max in the morning and perhaps after court as well. We will have to play that by ear.

Tuesday, we leave around 6pm, so we will plan on one last visit with Max prior to our departure. The best news of all, is that it looks like we will be back to pick him up sooner than we thought! As a matter of fact, we may be able to bring him home almost a week sooner than planned. We need to get some clarification from the director in the next few days on our next trip's timeline.

Once we settled into our hotel room (same hotel as last trip), it was off to our favorite resturant, Stolle (pronounced "Sh-toll-e"). They are known for their "pies." Meat pies, vegetable pies and of course, dessert pies. I branched out this time and ordered a "meat pie," as opposed to my standard Chicken Kiev. I wasn't sure what kind of meat was in it, so I asked. The woman behind the counter said, "Meat. Meat. You know, 'Mooooooo'." Shelly and I could only surmise that she meant beef, so I just went with it. It wasn't half bad. Shelly went with her usual standby, mushroom soup and a greek salad. We both had cheesecake. There was no way we were skipping the cheesecake.

After dinner, we did a little grocery shopping, then back to the hotel to hang it up for the night. The clock in the room says 10:17pm, but our bodies think that it is the middle of the afternoon. It doesn't help that it is still light outside. Looks like it's going to be a restless night.

Until tomorrow...

We finally got the call...

After what seemed like an eternity, we got the call we have been waiting for since last February 2008. That call was a specific timeline that included the date we would bring our son home for good.

Prior to that, we have a few last hurdles to face. The first of which is a court date with a Russian judge. Once we make it through the Russian court system, we will return home to wait out a 10-day recision period. I can only imagine that this will seem more like 10 months, than just shy of two weeks.

Once the 10 day period is up, we hop a flight back to St. Petersburg (yeah, it sounds easy, but it's not) to pick him up.

One would think that you would, at this point, be able to return home and start our new lives together, but you would be wrong! Instead, we spend almost a week in St. Petersburg getting his paperwork finished, then it's off to Moscow via an overnight train trip.

Once in Moscow, we visit the US Embassy for, guess what, more paperwork. This should only take a couple of days, but with the weekend, maybe a total of 4 or 5 days.

Then comes what we have been dreading the most from the start of this process, the plane ride home. Neither of us are really sure what to expect, but we are prepared for a VERY LONG trip home! The combination of us not knowing him well, him not knowing us well, all three of us tired of traveling should make for an intersting flight home. I guess we just need to put it all in perspective that, a) it's only 24 hours, b) it's all worth it in the end!

Next post will be from warm and sunny St. Petersburg! Until then, Пока Пока!

Day 6, and it's time to go home...

We just had a morning visit today, as we had a flight to catch, but it was an exciting one. We were taken on a tour of the orphanage and able to see where he spends his days, as well as meet his caretaker.

He is part of a group of 12 kids that are all of similar age. This group of kids eat, sleep, bathe, and play all together in one big room. The room is divided in half, with 12 cribs on one side, and a play area with small tables and chairs on the other where they eat and play. Everything in the room is neat and orderly. To keep everything straight, each kid has a number (his is 4), and that number corresponds to their own towel, washcloth, potty, closet, table, crib, etc. It is a really neat system, and probably one that the caretakers couldn't do without!

It was really amazing to watch him interact with his caretaker and the other kids in the room. You could tell that it was an environment that was familar and comfortable for him.

After our tour, we had some time to play. He was a different kid today, as his cold begins to subside. There were lots of smiles and laughter, but he still likes to cuddle.

We both new that it wouldn't be long before someone would come get him for lunch, and it would be time for us to head to the airport. We weren't sure how we would react to the fact that this is the last visit we have for awhile, but after seeing how well adjusted and cared for he is with his group, it eased the inevitable distance we were about to face.

We are both excited to get home, but even more anxious to get him home with us for good. But, in the mean time, he is being well cared for and having a good time with his friends.

So, it isn't "goodbye," it's just "see you later."

Day 5

Today was the dreaded medical exam. We started out our morning at the hospital, where we had exams from 8 different doctors where we were checked for:

• Infectious Diseases
• Blood drawn (about 2 gallons worth!)
• Neurological work-up
• Oncology exam
• Cardiology (EKG)
• Pulmonology (chest x-ray)
• Psychology (save your punchlines...)

And the final results are that we are "healthy." And a little bit poorer since they don't take Aetna!

Then, it was off to the Notary to execute our final documents stating that we intend to adopt. These papers, along with our medical results, and a whole host of other documents yet to be completed, will be forwarded to a judge here in St. Petersburg for our trial at a later date.

Our afternoon visit to the orphanage was good. We found that he is starting to feel a bit better, evident by a productive cough, and lack of a runny nose.

We decided to pull the toys out one by one this time to see if he would remember what we had been bringing. As we guessed, he kept looking toward that familar bag of toys until all of them were displayed on the floor. Smart little guy!

Moments of play were interrupted with desire to be held and comforted from his cold. But it didn't take long for him to spot one of the toys and be right back in the mix.

Day 4

We spent the morning visit, today, outside. Despite the cool weather, it was sunny, and they take every opportunity to get the kids outside. Unfortunately, he was still feeling a little under the weather.

We did some walking and took turns carrying him around the outside of the building. When we put him down on the ground to walk, he holds each hand up in the air, and opens and closes his hands as to ask, "grab my hands." This must be the way he learned to walk with his caretakers.

We each grab a hand, and off we go. We only made it a few hundred meters (can you tell we've been here too long? Now I'm using the metric system!), and we would feel is grip lessen. That was our cue to pick him up as he was exhuasted from the walk. We knew that the tears were only seconds away. As soon as we picked him up, his fingers went in the mouth, and he was ready for quick nap.

During our break between visits, we took the subway into the city centre, where we had lunch, did some shopping in the open air market, and toured the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. This is a church with an amazing history.

It was commissioned by Russian Czar, Alexander III to memorialize the death of his father, Alexander II, who was killed on site in 1881 by a terrorist's bomb. It took 26 years to complete and was closed in the 1930's by Stalin's communist government, as many churches were during Soviet times.

It sustained damage over time, especially during WWII , including bomb attacks that left holes in the beautiful domes. During it's time of closure, it was used as a warehouse to store potatoes.

The church underwent many years of reconstruction to return it to it's original glory. The interior of the church is floor-to-ceiling mosaic tiled scenes, and contains detailed alters made of marble, jasper, gold leaf and semi-precious stones. Pictures can't do it justice.

There is a particular alter in the church that holds a section of rail that is said to be the actual rail at which Alexander II died.

Our afternoon visit was back inside the orphanage. It is much easier to play with the toys, and him, when indoors. Just the fact that he is not bundled up in a snowsuit, must be a relief for him.

His demeanor was much like the morning visit. He had fun while he was playing or walking about, but when he was done, he was ready to be held. We took turns walking him around, and rocking in the rocking chair. He loves to cuddle, and tries hard not to fall asleep, but tends to loose the battle.

Before we knew it, it was time to go. His caretaker came to pick him up. "Packa Packa" and off he went. We think that means "bye-bye."

It's an early morning for us tomorrow. We have to go to the medical clinic for our physical exams. Not sure what to expect, but there's no turning back now!

Day 3

When we left the orphanage yesterday, we could tell that he wasn't feeling too well, so we weren't sure what kind of mood he'd be in today. Much to our surprise, he was dressed and ready to go outside and play.

He is starting to recognize us, or at least the toys we are bringing. We walked around the grounds, again, and this time played with the toys outside. He seems to like the balls that make noise, and always makes sure he has all five in his possession.

We also played on the slide and laughed more and more with each trip down. Towards the end of our visit, he started to get a bit cranky, so we just walked with him and he nearly fell asleep in our arms. His caretaker said that it was just about time for lunch, which is always followed by a nap. We think he was ready for both!!

During our break between visits, we toured a local Russian Orthodox Church, which was having pre-Easter services (Russian's follow the Orthodox calendar). The Orthodox religion has many similarities to the Catholic faith, but also some stark differences. The most obvious is the format of their services and the church, itself.

Upon walking into an Orthodox Church, you will notice that there are no pews, as members of the church stand at various Icons during the services. That leads me to the second distinction, there are no figures, but rather two-dimentional icons throughout. At these Icons, members light candles in represenation of their prayers.

There are differences in ideologies as well, but for sake of not deviating from the purpose of this blog, I digress...

We also experienced local favorites, like a well known chocolate store, traditional Russian cuisine, and shopping at local retail stores.

Before we knew it, we were back to the orphanage to see how lunch and the nap went. We were greeted with a "freshly-charged" little boy, who was anxious to play with the toys we have been bringing the past few days.

His caretaker brought with him the stuffed animal of a chocolate lab we gave him on Monday. He wasn't too sure of it then, but seems to like it now.

It didn't take him long to start stacking the blocks, and throwing the balls. Shelly spent some time chasing him around the room, trying to keep him out of things he wasn't supposed to be getting into.

About 10 minutes before our visit was over, he started to get sleepy, and wanted to be held. He found comfort in Shelly's arms and cuddled right up to her. As shown in the picture, he likes to suck on his fingers. Looks like we should start saving for braces!